Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conductor Marin Alsop speaks on Creative Leadership.
The George Washington University's School of Business (GWSB) will host Conversations on Creative Leadership, a series of high-impact talks with leaders who are shaping the 21st century. The first event in the series will explore creative leadership through the lens of special guest Marin Alsop, conductor and music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Profiled in TIME and named one of "America's Most Powerful Women" by Newsweek, Ms. Alsop will discuss being-and becoming-a "first woman" in a male-dominated profession and how leading an orchestra serves as a metaphor for leading society. Hosted by GWSB Dean Doug Guthrie, the series explores the role of creative leaders in bringing together the business community, academia, government and the nonprofit sector to solve society's most intractable problems.

Marin Alsop

Marin Alsop made history as the first woman to head a major American orchestra when she became the Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony. She began playing piano at age two, violin at five, entered Julliard pre-college at seven, decided to become a conductor at nine, and entered Yale at sixteen. In 1991 she made her professional conducting debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the London Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She continues to appear regularly with these orchestras, in addition to the London Philharmonic.

Winner of Gramophone's “Artist of the Year” award and a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Alsop was the first conductor to be named a MacArthur Fellow. In 2006 she was the only classical musician invited to attend the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

A protégée of Leonard Bernstein, in 2009 Alsop became the artistic director of London’s Southbank Centre’s season-long The Bernstein Project. Encompassing more than 30 events, the series draws from Bernstein’s work as a musician, humanitarian, and educator.

Doug Guthrie

Doug Guthrie, dean, professor of international business, and professor of management at the George Washington University School of Business, is an expert in the fields of economic reform in China, leadership and corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility. Prior to joining GW, Guthrie served as professor of management at New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business. He also held a joint appointment as professor of sociology on NYU’s arts and sciences faculty and was director of executive education at NYU Stern from 2007-09.

Guthrie has held visiting positions at Harvard Business School, INSEAD, and the graduate schools of business at Stanford University, Columbia University, and Emory University. He served as director of the Business Institutions Initiative at the Social Science Research Council (1999-2003) and was the academic director of the Berlin School of Creative Leadership from 2008-11.

Guthrie holds an AB in East Asian languages and civilizations with a concentration in Chinese literature from the University of Chicago. He earned his master’s and PhD degrees in organizational sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Guthrie studied in Taipei, Taiwan, during his undergraduate years and conducted his doctoral research in Shanghai, China.

Guthrie has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous books, articles, and reports on Chinese economic reform, leadership, and corporate social responsibility. His doctoral research was
recognized with the American Sociological Association’s national award for top dissertation in the field in 1997. He has also been the recipient of teaching awards, best paper awards, and grants from the Ford and Alfred P. Sloan foundations.